Audible Fire Alarms

Bob Spink: To ask the Leader of the House what proportion of the premises occupied by his Office is fitted with audible fire alarms.

Geoff Hoon: All space occupied by the Office of the Leader of the House of Commons at 2 Carlton Gardens is fitted with an audible fire alarm.
	My Office also occupies office space in the House of Commons. Fire alarms are the responsibility of the Sergeant at Arms.

Afghanistan (Troop Deployment)

Michael Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects to make a definitive statement about the deployment of troops into Helmand Province in Afghanistan; and what their role will be.

John Reid: I refer the right hon. Member to the statement made on 14 November 2005, Official Report, column 41WS by my right hon. Friend the Minister for the Armed Forces.
	As he said then, and as I previously informed the House on 7 July 2005, Official Report, column 479, the United Kingdom has preliminary plans to support the expansion of the NATO-led ISAF mission in Afghanistan by establishing a British-led Provincial Reconstruction Team in the province of Helmand.
	Work continues within NATO on the configuration of the international force package for ISAF expansion in southern Afghanistan. We will take decisions in light of this work, and will inform the House at the earliest opportunity.

Atomic Weapons Establishment (Aldermaston)

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether Crown immunity applies in the case of the AWE planning application for a new laser facility at Aldermaston; and if he will make a statement.

Don Touhig: The normal planning process cannot be used for the proposed Atomic Weapons Establishment Orion Laser Development at Aldermaston because the Ministry of Defence (MOD), as a Crown Department, is not subject to the statutory planning process and is therefore not legally able to submit formal planning applications.
	I refer the hon. Member to my answer of 7 December 2005, Official Report, column 1348W. It explained that the MOD follows a consultation process with the local planning authority under DoE Circular 18/84 which largely mirrors the statutory planning system. It is this Department's policy to support any development proposals with the same level of background information that would be required under the statutory planning system.
	The MOD works closely with local authorities to address any concerns raised in connection with any development proposals. The Local Planning Authority can also stipulate conditions when responding. While the perception may be that my Department claims "Crown Immunity" from planning regulation, it does in fact follow the practice of the normal planning process and also strives to follow its principles.

Project Coast

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when the Government became aware of the South African Government's Project Coast.

Kim Howells: I have been asked to reply.
	The Government was aware of the existence of legitimate South African chemical and biological defence programmes from the 1980s. Initial reports indicating offensive chemical biological weapons activities (later known as "Project Coast") were not received until 1993, but they were inconclusive, although there were unsubstantiated claims of chemical weapon use by South African forces in Angola, Mozambique and Zimbabwe in the 1980–90s. More detailed evidence of previous offensive activities was received in the years leading up to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission hearings in 1998, when further details of the offensive activities emerged. In 1994, we understood that the South African Government had terminated offensive chemical and biological weapon activities.

Departmental Equipment

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many (a) personal computers, (b) laptops, (c) servers, (d) printers, (e) scanners, (f) photocopiers and (g) fax machines (i) his Department and (ii) each (A) non-departmental public body, (B) executive agency and (C) other public body for which his Department is responsible in (1) Scotland, (2) Wales, (3) each English region and (4) Northern Ireland owned in (x) 2003–04 and (y) 2004–05.

Gareth Thomas: I refer the member for Angus to the reply given by my right. hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for International Development, to the member for Tatton, on 24 January 2005, Official Report, column 21W, for the total figures for each asset type in DFID for 2004–05.
	DFID maintains a database of current assets, and records of purchases made in each year. Neither provides breakdowns of specific types of equipment owned in previous financial years, to obtain this information would incur a disproportionate cost.

HIV/AIDS (Paediatric Care)

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development 
	(1)  if he will list the countries in which his Department has funded projects which aim to improve access to paediatric anti-retroviral therapy;
	(2)  if he will list the (a) organisations and (b) countries his Department is working with on paediatric HIV/AIDS projects;
	(3)  how much of the £150 million the UK has committed to spend on children living with HIV will be spent on paediatric treatment programmes;
	(4)  what measures his Department has in place to monitor the proportion of child beneficiaries of the treatment programmes it funds;
	(5)  what further work has been undertaken to ensure HIV-positive children receive co-trimoxazole since the funding by his Department of Medical Research Council research into its benefits in 2004.

Gareth Thomas: Taking Action, the UK's strategy for tackling HIV and AIDS in the developing world, published in 2004, states that, our support for children affected by AIDS is reflected in all of DFID's country assistance plans in all affected countries. This comprehensive approach includes prevention, care and treatment as well as recognising the impact AIDS has on society, including increasing orphan rates. DFID's expenditure reporting reflects this comprehensive approach and given the aid instruments we use, it is not possible to disaggregate between moneys spent on treatment and those used for other AIDS related activities.
	The UK funds AIDS programmes in nearly 40 countries and works with a variety of organisations in respect of children affected by AIDS. DFID's spend on AIDS is not solely through bilateral programmes. A significant proportion is spent through multilateral instruments including the Global Fund to fight AIDS, TB and Malaria, the World Bank, UNICEF and the World Health Organisation (WHO); these play a role in funding paediatric treatment and care. The UK also finances a wide range of Civil Society organisations, including local NGOs such as the Dananai and Mavambo Trust in Zimbabwe, who are ensuring over 4,000 vulnerable children are able to attend school and that traumatised children receive appropriate counselling.
	In Malawi, for example, as part of DFIDs support to the National AIDS programmes, there are now over 60 facilities in Malawi delivering anti retroviral therapy for HIV and over 37,000 people on treatment. The numbers are increasing, around 4,500 people starting on therapy in the first three months of last year. 95 per cent. are over 13 years old and 81 per cent. of people who have ever taken treatment are alive. The UK will continue to advocate for comprehensive AIDS programmes that meet the needs of children as well as adults.
	The WHO reports 1 that access to HIV care and anti-retroviral therapy has not been extended widely to children. However, data is incomplete and the UK has urged the WHO, the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) and others to track the extent to which treatment and care programmes are meeting the needs of the poor, women and children.
	The Global Partners Forum on Children Affected by HIV and AIDS, which the UK is hosting in early February, will explore the current obstacles to treatment of children with HIV and AIDS, as well as other services and needs. In addition, the Global Steering Committee on Scaling up Towards Universal Access, which in turn is due to report to the UN General Assembly High Level meeting in June 2006, is considering the obstacles to scaling up access to treatment for children, including the lack of appropriate and effective diagnostic tools and treatments.
	Following publication of the DFID-funded Medical Research Council research findings, the WHO, UNAIDS and UNICEF issued a joint statement in November 2004 on the use of cotrimoxazole as a prophylaxis in HIV exposed and HIV affected children.
	The joint statement advocates that prophylactic dosing with Cotrimoxazole for HIV infected children with any sign or symptoms suggestive of HIV is a key intervention that should be offered as part of a basic package of care to reduce morbidity and mortality.
	The document further states that Cotrimoxazole prophylaxis is also a crucial potentially life saving intervention that should be given to all HIV exposed children born to HIV- infected mothers, in settings where HIV infection status cannot be reliably confirmed in the first 18 months of life.
	Following the joint statement, Cotrimoxazole is now universally accepted as a standard treatment package for all children exposed to HIV and on treatment and it is advocated for all children with HIV, regardless of whether they are receiving treatment.
	As a follow on to the Cotrimoxazole study DFID is providing funding support for a further trial through the Medical Research Council to examine the best use of anti-retrovirals for children.
	1 Progress on Global Access to HIV Antiretroviral Therapy—an update on "3 by 5" June 2005

Terminator Seeds

John Hemming: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what his policy is on proposals for changes to the United Nations convention on biological diversity to legalise an international market in terminator seeds.

Elliot Morley: I have been asked to reply.
	Terminator seeds' are plants bred using genetic use restriction technologies known as GURTs. The parties to the United Nations convention on biological diversity decided, in 2000, that there should be a precautionary approach to the use of GURTs while research into the possible impacts of these technologies was carried out. Parties at the meeting in March, this year, will consider a recommendation by the convention's subsidiary body for scientific technical and technological advice to reaffirm the previous decision. The subsidiary body's recommendation also encourages parties to continue to undertake further research on the impacts of GURTS and to share information from these studies and addresses capacity building for decision making in developing countries. Parties at the meeting will also consider a report on related matters from one of the convention's inter-sessional working groups before deciding what further decision is appropriate.
	Our position at the meeting will take full account of these reports, as well as the EU's own regulatory regime which requires that no GM seed may be marketed in the EU unless it has been specifically approved by the member states. Decisions on applications to market GMOs are made on a case-by-case basis taking full account of a scientific assessment of the particular GMO and the risks associated with its use against the criteria in the EU legislation. An application for a GMO incorporating GURTs would be dealt with in the same way as any other GMO. Approval would only be granted if the evidence showed that a deliberate release of the GMO would not pose an unacceptable risk to human health or the environment.

World Trade Organisation

Peter Law: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will (a) place in the Library and (b) post on his Department's website documents prepared by his Department for the trade negotiations meeting in Hong Kong; which departmental officials accompanied him to the meeting; and what carbon offset measures were established to cover the Department's delegation.

Gareth Thomas: My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for International Development, attended part of the conference; he was accompanied by his principal private secretary. DFID officials who attended all or part of the conference with my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State, as part of the UK delegation, were: the Director of Europe, Trade and International Financial Institutions Departments, the Head of the International Trade Department and other departmental officials.
	No carbon offset measures specific to this conference were established, but DFID is committed to reducing carbon emissions from official air travel and, together with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, has developed a pilot programme to help neutralise greenhouse gases. Under this pilot Programme, DFID staff can exchange air miles earned on official travel for "earth miles" at an agreed conversion value. Our aim is for partner airlines to return some of the revenue from flights sold to DFID to pay for a portfolio of 'carbon offset' projects. Carbon offsets, for example, clean energy technology or sustainable land use would neutralise carbon dioxide emissions and contribute to sustainable development in developing countries. We have set up agreements on this with three major airlines. In addition to this pilot programme, the Prime Minister has announced that offsetting would apply to all central Government Departments from April 2006.
	I have arranged for the document entitled 'trade and development package for G90' which was prepared by DFID for the World Trade Organisation (WTO) ministerial in Hong Kong to be deposited in the Libraries of the House. It sets out our view of a package of measures to assist the least developed and other poor and vulnerable WTO member countries—a 'development package'. The UK has been working to build international support for these measures, on which some progress was made in Hong Kong. Other documents produced in the run up to the ministerial will not be made public, since to do so may prejudice the Government's ability to negotiate in the UK's interests and would be likely to prejudice our relations with other states.
	Additionally, for further information, I have also arranged for the document entitled trade matters' to be deposited in the Libraries of the House.

Abandoned Vehicles

Howard Stoate: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many abandoned vehicles were removed and destroyed in each local authority area in Kent in each of the last five years.

Ben Bradshaw: Estimates for abandoned vehicles removed and destroyed in England have been compiled in the Defra municipal waste management survey since 2001. The figures for the last five years for local authorities in Kent are shown in the table. The figures from 2004–05 are collated through waste dataflow survey. At present we do not have a full return for 2004–05 but have received the figures for Kent, which are included in the table with the exception of Medway for which 2004–05 data is not yet available.
	
		
			 Local authority 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 
		
		
			 Ashford 612 686 774 1,071 214 
			 Canterbury 809 974 1,052 625 305 
			 Dartford 483 706 598 200 121 
			 Dover 469 683 524 358 171 
			 Gravesham 884 942 1,035 790 390 
			 Maidstone 1,015 1,386 1,647 648 184 
			 Medway 1,157 2,512 2,618 1,999 — 
			 Sevenoaks 498 532 1,057 338 163 
			 Shepway 733 859 815 643 179 
			 Swale 738 976 882 524 260 
			 Thanet 950 1,271 2,327 1,776 452 
			 Tonbridge and Malling 557 632 607 597 133 
			 Tunbridge Wells 688 695 734 450 168

European Council

Peter Law: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what information her Department has obtained from the European Commission on the action plan on energy efficiency to which reference was made at paragraph 17 of the conclusions of the European Council meeting on 17 December 2005.

Elliot Morley: The European Commission published its Green Paper on Energy Efficiency, "Doing More With Less" in June last year. Consultation on the proposals in the Green Paper for improving energy efficiency within the EU closes on 31 March 2006. Following the close of consultation, the Commission have announced their intention to produce in 2006 an Energy Efficiency Action Plan which will set out those concrete actions that the Commission intend to take forward from the Green Paper, accompanied by the necessary cost-benefit analyses.

Child Trust Fund

Edward Davey: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 1 December 2005, Official Report, column 658W on the child trust fund, what estimate he has made of the cost of providing this information.

Dawn Primarolo: The cost of providing the information would have greatly exceeded disproportionate cost threshold of £600.

Child Trust Fund

Bob Spink: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many Child Trust fund vouchers have been issued to families in Castle Point to date.

Dawn Primarolo: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Paisley and Renfrewshire, North (Jim Sheridan) on 1 December 2005, Official Report, column 658W.

Employment (Castle Point)

Bob Spink: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proportion of those in employment in Castle Point were employed in (a) the public sector and (b) the private sector in each year since 1996.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician who has been asked to reply.
	Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 18 January 2006
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Questions about private and public sector employment. (42829)
	The Office for National Statistics (ONS) compiles statistics for the United Kingdom of public sector employment from a quarterly survey of public sector organizations. However, estimates at local area level are not available.
	Information at local area level is available from the Annual Population Survey (APS)/annual local area Labour Force Survey (LFS) of individual people in households. However, in this source, the categorization of employment in the public or private sector depends upon the responses from the individuals interviewed. As reported by ONS in October 2005 in the publication "Public Sector Employment Trends", some individuals tend to misreport private sector employment as being in the public sector hence leading to overestimates of the share of public sector employment.
	With this reservation about the data quality, the attached table shows the proportions of public and private sector employment in the Castle Point constituency shown by the annual local area LFS for the 12 month periods ending February 1997 to February 2004 and by the APS for the 12 month period to March 2005.
	These estimates, as with any from sample surveys, are subject to a margin of uncertainty. Changes in the estimates from year to year should be treated with particular caution.
	
		Persons in employment resident in the Castle Point constituency by private-public sector split(9)
		
			  Proportions (per cent.) 
			 12 months ending February: Private sector Public sector Total in employment (000) 
		
		
			 1997 n/a n/a 37 
			 1998 n/a n/a 40 
			 1999 84 16 41 
			 2000 83 17 41 
			 2001 83 17 45 
			 2002 84 16 43 
			 2003 86 14 42 
			 2004 83 17 41 
			 March 2005 79 21 44 
		
	
	(9) Public/private sector split based on responses from individuals responding to the annual local area Labour Force Survey and the Annual Population survey—generally overestimate public sector employment.
	Note:
	Percentages are based on exact levels for each year and then rounded
	n/a—not available.
	Source:
	Annual local area Labour Force Survey; Annual Population Survey.

Government Expenditure

William Hague: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what provision was made in the Government's spending plans contained in the pre-Budget report, in advance of the meeting of the European Council on 15 and 16 December 2005 for (a) an increase in UK contributions to the EU budget owing to changes to the rebate and (b) an increase in UK contributions to the EU budget due to an increase in the EU budget's share of EU gross national income; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what provision (a) has been and (b) will be made to meet the increase in UK contributions arising from (i) the reduction in the EU rebate and (ii) the increase in the EU budget's share of EU gross national income; and whether such provision (A) has been and (B) will be met from (1) a rise in tax revenue and (2) a reduction in expenditure.

John Healey: I refer the right hon. Gentleman to the reply the Chancellor of the Exchequer gave to the right hon. Member for West Dunbartonshire on 20 December 2005, Official Report, column 2796W.

Population Statistics

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the predicted net change in (a) population and (b) number of households, in (i) Merseyside, (ii) Newcastle-upon-Tyne, (iii) Stoke on Trent, (iv) Kingston upon Hull, (v) the North East government office region and (vi) the North West government office region, over the next 20 years.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician who has been asked to reply.
	Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 18 January 2005
	As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your question concerning the projected change in population and household numbers over the next 20 years. (42889)
	The Office for National Statistics produces official subnational population projections for England. The most recent set of population projections are 2003-based and use local trends in births, deaths and migration over the reference period 1999 to 2003 to formulate assumptions on levels of fertility, mortality and migration for future years.
	The attached table shows the projected population of the areas of Merseyside, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Stoke on Trent, Kingston upon Hull, the North East government office region and the North West government office region from the 2003-based subnational population projections.
	Household projections are the responsibility of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister. Interim 2002 based household projections for the Government Regions are published on the ODPM web site at: http://www.odpm.gov.uk/pub/104/Table405Excel30KbJdll56104.xls.
	Updated projections for districts are currently in production.
	
		Table 1: Projected population and year-on-year net change for selected areas in England 2003-based subnational population projections
		
			 Thousand 
			 Area  2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 
		
		
			 Merseyside (metropolitan county) Projected popn 1,361.5 1,359.1 1,357.1 1,355.3 1,353.7 1,352.2 1,350.9 
			  Net change — -2.3 -2.0 -1.8 -1.7 -1.5 -1.3 
			  
			 Newcastle upon Tyne (metropolitan district) Projected popn 265.5 264.6 263.9 263.4 262.9 262.5 262 1 
			  Net change — -0.9 -0.7 -0.5 -0.5 -0.4 -0.4 
			  
			 Stoke-on-Trent (unitary authority) Projected popn 236.6 235.3 234.1 233.0 232.0 231.0 230.0 
			  Net change — -1.3 -1.2 -1.1 -1.1 -1.0 -0.9 
			  
			 Kingston upon Hull (unitary authority) Projected popn 245.6 243.4 241.5 239.6 237.9 236.3 234.8 
			  Net change — -2.1 -2.0 -1.8 -1.7 -1.6 -1.5 
			  
			 North East (govt office region) Projected popn 2,535.4 2,531.9 2,529.0 2,526.7 2,524.5 2,522.4 2,520.6 
			  Net change — -3.4 -3.0 -2.3 -2.2 -2.1 -1.8 
			  
			 North West (govt office region) Projected popn 6,811 4 6,820.1 6,829.9 6,840.8 6,851.8 6,863.1 6,874.9 
			  Net change — 8.8 9.7 10.9 11.0 11.3 11.9 
		
	
	
		
			 Thousand 
			 Area  2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 
		
		
			 Merseyside (metropolitan county) Projected popn 1,349.7 1,348.8 1,348.0 1,347.4 1,346.9 1,346.6 1,346.4 
			  Net change -1.1 -1.0 -0.8 -0.7 -0.5 -0.3 -0.2 
			  
			 Newcastle upon Tyne (metropolitan district) Projected popn 261.7 261.3 260.9 260.4 259.9 259.4 259.0 
			  Net change -0.4 -0.4 -0.5 -0.5 -0.5 -0.5 -0.5 
			  
			 Stoke-on-Trent (unitary authority) Projected popn 229.1 228.3 227.5 226.7 226.0 225.3 224.7 
			  Net change -0.9 -0.9 -0.8 -0.8 -0.7 -0.7 -0.6 
			  
			 Kingston upon Hull (unitary authority) Projected popn 233.4 232.1 230.8 229.6 228.5 227.4 226.3 
			  Net change -1.4 -1.3 -1.3 -1.2 -1.2 -1.1 -1.0 
			  
			 North East (govt office region) Projected popn 2,518.9 2,517.4 2,515.9 2,514.5 2,513.3 2,512.1 2,511.0 
			  Net change -1.6 -1.6 -1.5 -1.4 -1.2 -1.2 -1.1 
			  
			 North West (govt office region) Projected popn 6,887.4 6,900.4 6,914.0 6,928.0 6,942.5 6,957.3 6,972.3 
			  Net change 12.5 13.0 13.6 14.0 14.4 14.8 15.1 
		
	
	
		
			 Thousand 
			 Area  2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 
		
		
			 Merseyside (metropolitan county) Projected popn 1,346.3 1,346.2 1,346.1 1,346.0 1,345.8 1,345.7 1,345.4 
			  Net change -0.1 -0.1 -0.1 -0.1 -0.2 -0.1 -0.2 
			  
			 Newcastle upon Tyne (metropolitan district) Projected popn 258.5 257.9 257.4 256.8 256.4 256.1 255.8 
			  Net change -0.5 -0.5 -0.6 -0.5 -0.4 -0.3 -0.3 
			  
			 Stoke-on-Trent (unitary authority) Projected popn 224.1 223.5 222.9 222.3 221.8 221.3 220.8 
			  Net change -0.6 -0.6 -0.6 -0.6 -0.5 -0.5 -0.5 
			  
			 Kingston upon Hull (unitary authority) Projected popn 225.3 224.4 223.4 222.5 221.7 220.9 220.2 
			  Net change -1.0 -1.0 -0.9 -0.9 -0.8 -0.8 -0.7 
			 North East (govt office region) Projected popn 2,509.8 2,508.4 2,506.9 2,505.4 2,503.7 2,502.0 2,500.0 
			  Net change -1.2 -1.3 -1.5 -1.6 -1.7 -1.7 -1.9 
			  
			 North West (govt office region) Projected popn 6,987.4 7,002.3 7,016.8 7,030.8 7,044.3 7,057.1 7,069.2 
			  Net change 15.0 14.9 14.5 14.0 13.6 12.8 12.1 
		
	
	Source:
	Office for National Statistics

Valuation Office Agency

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what discussions the Valuation Office Agency has had with the EU Permanent Committee on Cadastre; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: The Valuation Office Agency was invited to participate in the Plenary Meeting of the EU Permanent Committee on Cadastre held on 26 October 2005 at the Southampton offices of Ordnance Survey.
	The main objective of the EU Permanent Committee on Cadastre is to facilitate the exchange of information, expertise, and best practices among member states.
	In England and Wales, the bodies that contribute to the cadastre are Land Registry, Ordnance Survey and the Valuation Office Agency. That is why these three bodies were represented at the Plenary Meeting of the EU Permanent Committee on Cadastre.
	The Valuation Office Agency was invited to make a presentation to the Plenary Meeting of the EU Permanent Committee on Cadastre to explain how its valuation work contributed to the "cadastre" in England and Wales.

Valuation Office Agency

Caroline Spelman: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer how many cases the Adjudicator's Office has considered in relation to the Valuation Office Agency and council tax since May 1997; and if he will place in the Library a copy of the ruling on each case.

Dawn Primarolo: The Adjudicator has considered 69 cases in relation to the Valuation Office Agency and council tax since 1 April 1997.
	The rulings relate to an individual taxpayer's affairs and are, therefore, confidential.

Westmorland and Lonsdale

Tim Farron: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many (a) private sector jobs broken down by (i) agricultural, (ii) manufacturing and (iii) service sector and (b) public sector jobs there were in Westmorland and Lonsdale in each year since 1997.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the national statistician who has been asked to reply.
	Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 18 January 2006
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Questions about private and public sector employment. (43148)
	The Office for National Statistics (ONS) compiles statistics for the United Kingdom of public sector employment from a quarterly survey of public sector organizations. However, estimates at local area level are not available.
	Information at local area level is available from the annual local area Labour Force Survey (LFS) of individual people in households. However, in this source, the categorization of employment in the public or private sector depends upon the responses from the individuals interviewed. As reported by ONS in October 2005 in the publication "Public Sector Employment Trends", some individuals tend to misreport private sector employment as being in the public sector hence leading to overestimates of the share of public sector employment.
	With this reservation about the data quality, the attached table shows the number of persons in private sector employment, by the specified splits, and for the public sector, for people resident in the Westmorland and Lonsdale constituency as shown by the annual local area LFS for the 12 month periods ending February 1998 to February 2004.
	These estimates, as with any from sample surveys, are subject to a margin of uncertainty. Changes in the estimates from year to year should be treated with particular caution.
	
		Persons in employment resident in the Westmorland and Lonsdale constituency by private-public sector split(12)
		
			 Thousand 
			  Private sector Public sector Total 
			 Twelve months ending February: Agriculture Manufacturing Services(13) Other industries(14)   
		
		
			 1998 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 39 
			 1999 1 5 24 3 7 41 
			 2000 1 4 24 4 7 41 
			 2001 2 2 22 4 7 37 
			 2002 2 6 20 3 7 38 
			 2003 2 4 25 6 6 44 
			 2004 1 6 28 4 6 45 
		
	
	n/a = Not available.
	(12) Public/private sector split based on responses from individuals responding to the annual local area labour force survey—generally overestimate public sector employment.
	(13) Services are Standard Industrial Classification (1992) divisions G-O.
	(14) Other industries are divisions B, C, E and F.
	Source:
	Annual local area labour force survey.

Buses

Paul Rowen: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on his plans to regulate bus services outside the London area.

Karen Buck: We have no such plans. However, if local authorities are prepared to propose a comprehensive system for managing traffic, which may well include road pricing, we are prepared in turn to consider allowing greater control of bus services. This follows the policy set out in the 2004 White Paper "The Future of Transport: A Network for2030"(Cm6234).

Departmental Expenditure

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the cost was of pension contributions incurred by (a) his Department, (b) each (i) non-departmental public body, (ii) executive agency and (iii) other public body for which he is responsible in (A) Scotland, (B) Wales, (C) each of the English regions and (D) Northern Ireland in each of the last three financial years; and what the planned expenditure is for 2005–06.

Karen Buck: For 2005–06,employers' contributions are payable to the principal civil service pension scheme (PCSPS) at one of four rates in the ranges 16.2 to 24.6 percent. of pensionable pay, based on salary bands. The scheme actuary reviews employer contributions every four years following a full scheme valuation; last carried out as at 31 March 2003. The contribution rates reflect the cost of benefits as they accrue (net of employee contributions), not the costs as they are actually incurred, and reflect past experience of the scheme. This applies to all of the employer contributions detailed in the following table except for Trinity House Lighthouse Service and Northern Lighthouse Board who operate pensions schemes other than the PCSPS.
	(a) The pension contributions for the Department are as follows:
	
		
			£000 
			 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 (15)2005–06 
		
		
			 7,043 8,514 9,524 13,180 
		
	
	(15) Estimate
	(b) (ii) The pension contributions for the Executive Agencies are as follows:
	
		
			 £000 
			  2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 (16)2005–06 
		
		
			 Maritime and Coastguard Agency 3,254 3,860 3,958 5,563 
			 Highways Agency 6,668 7,306 8,229 13,107 
			 Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency 10,408 11,621 13,487 12,707 
			 Driving Standards Agency 4,181 5,141 6,167 9,496 
			 Vehicle Operator Services Agency 5,782 7,014 8,029 11,829 
			 Vehicle Certification Agency 368 391 413 582 
			 Government Car and Delivery Service 900 910 912 1,406 
		
	
	(16) Estimate
	(b) (iii) The pension contributions for other sponsored bodies are as follows:
	
		
			 £000 
			  2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 (17)2005–06 
		
		
			 Trinity House Lighthouse Service 5,100 8,519 6,616 5,702 
			 Northern Lighthouse Board 16 20 20 107 
			 Strategic Rail Authority 5,125 5,966 5,148 2,688 
			 Rail Passenger Council n/a n/a n/a 177 
		
	
	n/a = not available
	(17) Estimate
	Apart from those costs relating to the Northern Lighthouse Board which all relate to Scotland, the costs are not held in a way that they can be attributed to Scotland, Wales, the English regions or Northern Ireland.

European Aviation Safety Agency

Gwyneth Dunwoody: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  if he will make a statement on the administrative impact of the introduction of the European Aviation Safety Agency's Fees and Charges Regulation on (a) the work of the European Aviation Safety Agency and (b) UK industry;
	(2)  how many representations he has received from UK industry about the impact of the European Aviation Safety Agency's Fees and Charges Regulation; and how many of these claimed an adverse impact;
	(3)  whether he has been informed of delays to aviation projects resulting from the introduction of the European Aviation Safety Agency's Fees and Charges Regulation.

Karen Buck: The Fees and Charges Regulation, which came into force on 1 June 2005, requires that applications for a number of approvals and certificates can only be made to the European Civil Aviation Agency and that only the Agency can charge for the technical investigations needed to support the grant of such applications, even when a national authority carries out the work on its behalf. In such cases, the work is set up and paid for under the terms of agency/authority contracts. The manner of implementation of these processes has affected the Agency's ability to undertake their certification tasks in a timely and efficient way. There has also been some knock-on effect on other Agency activities as staff have been allocated to help deal with the demands of the fees and charges system.
	The Secretary of State has not received any specific representations from UK industry on the impact of the Agency's Fees and Charges Regulation. But UK industry ahs alerted the Department for Transport to the adverse impact of this Regulation at regular consultation meetings. The Department has asked the Civil Aviation Authority to monitor and report on problems that industry has drawn to its attention.
	UK companies have also reported difficulties in getting applications handled in a timely fashion and this has impacted adversely on their work including delays to several aviation projects. The Department, in conjunction with the Civil Aviation Authority, is working energetically on these problems with the Agency, the European Commission and other member states so as to ensure that the situation improves.

Parking Meters

Greg Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what guidelines his Department has issued to local authorities concerning parking in individual metered bays when the parking meter is temporarily inoperable.

Karen Buck: The Department's "Guidance on Decriminalised Parking Enforcement Outside London"—a copy of which is available in the Libraries of the House—says that the duties of a parking attendant include inspecting parking meters and pay-and-display machines to ensure that they are working prior to penalty charge notice issue. It adds that where there is a minor fault, the attendant may be able to rectify it, otherwise an "out of order" notice must be put on the meter or machine and the fault must be reported. Similar guidance has been issued to the capital's local authorities by the Association of London Government.

Railways

Gwyneth Dunwoody: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  pursuant to the answer of 14 November 2005, Official Report, column 895W, on railways, how much was paid to each train operating company for each management only contract; and with which company each contract was made;
	(2)  pursuant to the answer of 14 November 2005, Official Report, column 895W, on railways, how many franchises he expects his Department to operate under management-only contracts in each year between 2005 and 2008.

Derek Twigg: Management only contracts are those where the DfT Rail Group takes the full risk for the operation and pays the train operating company a management fee.
	The following table shows the companies and franchise values for each year requested.
	
		
			   £ million 
			  First North Western Anglia Railways 
		
		
			 2001 146.7 n/a 
			 2002 173.3 (18)-2.3 
			 2003 179.6 (18)-6.4 
			 2004 185.5 (18)-1.5 
			 2005 103.4 0.8 
			 2006 n/a n/a 
			 2007 n/a n/a 
			 2008 n/a n/a 
		
	
	n/a = Not available.
	(18) Net payment back to the SRA after management fee payment to Anglia positive.
	Notes:
	1. Positive numbers indicate a payment to the company.
	2. Negative numbers indicate a receipt from the company.
	Source:
	All figures are sourced from the SRA 2005 annual report.
	For the years 2006–08, no management only contracts are expected to be let.

Railways

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the change in passenger numbers on the railways in each year between 2006 and 2014.

Derek Twigg: The Department for Transport's latest published central projections for rail usage can be found in the paper the "The Future of Transport: Modelling and Analysis" published on 21 March 2005, which is available on the Department's website. This shows rail passenger kilometres increasing by 33 percent. between 2000 and 2010, implying growth of around 3.5 percent. a year for the rest of the decade. From 2010 to 2025 the projection shows growth of 1.3 percent. a year.

Transport Infrastructure

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much was spent on transport infrastructure in each year since 2000–01 from (a) public funds and (b) private investment.

Karen Buck: Investment in transport infrastructure in Great Britain since 2000–01 is as follows:
	
		£ million (outturn prices)
		
			  2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 
		
		
			 Road infrastructure 
			 Public 3,344 3,643 4,108 4,191 
			 Private 47 45 39 40 
			 Total 3,391 3,688 4,147 4,231 
			 Airports and air traffic control
			 Public(19) 163 57 71 70 
			 Private(19) 566 630 784 1,384 
			 Total 729 687 854 1,454 
			 Rail infrastructure 2,790 3,652 4,241 5,186 
			 Ports infrastructure 205 233 236 307 
			 All infrastructure 7,114 8,260 9,479 11,177 
		
	
	(19) Investment in NATS switched from public to private funding between 2000–01 and 2001–02
	A split by public and private funding is not available for rail and ports infrastructure. The Government made direct grants to Railtrack plc./Network Rail and London and Continental Railways relating to investment on infrastructure undertaken by those companies as follows:
	
		
			 £ million (outturn prices) 
			  2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 
		
		
			 Railtrack plc./Network Rail 0 499 792 1,448 
			 London and Continental Railways 0 185 374 222 
		
	
	Investment in ports infrastructure is mainly from private investment. Further information on transport investment in infrastructure and rolling stock can be found in Tables 1.14 and 1.15 in Transport Statistics Great Britain on the DfT website.

Vehicle Licensing

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has to offer individual motorists the right to opt out from having their details passed on to third parties by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency.

Stephen Ladyman: The Data Protection Act exempts from its non-disclosure provisions the release of personal data where the law allows it. The provisions governing release of information from DVLA's vehicle register to persons who demonstrate reasonable cause have been in place and worked effectively for over 40 years. However, when these provisions were originally introduced they did not anticipate the introduction of electronic databases, the large number of vehicles on the roads, or the range of bodies now requesting access. Concerns have also recently been raised about the breadth of organisations that have access to the register.
	Whilst it is not possible to allow motorists to opt out of having their details released, I have announced a review of the regulations governing the release of information. This review will take place shortly.

Departmental Estate

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will list the former (a) buildings and (b) land of (i) her Department and (ii) (A) non-departmental public bodies, (B) agencies and (C) independent statutory bodies for which her Department is responsible which have been sold since 7 May 1997; what the sale price of each (1) was at the time of sale and (2) is at current prices; and whether the money accrued was (x) retained by her Department and (y) claimed by the Treasury.

David Lammy: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport sold the freehold of the North East Corner of the Royal Garden Hotel, London in 2005 for the sum of £2.5 million.
	In addition, in 2003 the Department sold the freehold of 33 Park Street, Windsor for £30,000; and in 2005 it sold the freeholds of 30, 31 and 32 Park Street for a total of £110,000.
	The Department sold 10 Chantry Close, Windsor in 2003 for £232,000.
	The Royal Parks sold 183 Kidbrooke Park Road, London in March 1999 for £120,000.
	In each case the money was retained by the Department or The Royal Parks as an "appropriation in aid".
	Information about the current value of property or land, or about sales of property or land, could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Energy Efficiency

Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what proportion of electricity used by buildings in (a) her Department and (b) its agencies came from renewable sources in each year from 1997.

James Purnell: The information requested is as follows.
	(a) The proportion of electricity used by the Department that was from renewable sources was as follows:
	
		
			  Percentage 
		
		
			 2004–05 86 
			 2003–04 83 
		
	
	The Department was not supplied with renewable energy prior to 2003, but is now supplied with 100 per cent. renewable energy.
	(b) The proportion of electricity used by The Royal Parks that was from renewable sources was as follows:
	
		
			  Percentage 
		
		
			 2004–05 100 
			 2003–04 100 
			 2002–03 100 
		
	
	The Royal Parks do not hold data for periods prior to 2002.

Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills when the Minister of State for Children will reply to the letter dated 30 November 2005 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton, with regard to Mrs. Nazia Parvega.

Beverley Hughes: My right hon. Friend, the Minister for Children, Young People and Families replied to the hon. Member's letter of 30 November on 11 January.

Education Costs

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what proportion of the total costs of higher education were paid by (a) tuition fees and (b) public subsidy in each year from 1992–93; what the estimate is for each year to 2007–08; and if she will make a statement.

Bill Rammell: The following table shows the proportion of total income to English HE institutions from tuition fees and public funding, for years for which data is available. Figures for years beyond 2003/04 are not available because we do not estimate future income to institutions.
	
		
			  Percentage 
			  1994/95 1995/96 1996/97 1997/98 1998/99 
		
		
			 Proportion of income from public funding(22) 71 70 68 67 63 
			 Proportion of income from tuition fees(22) 21 21 22 22 23 
		
	
	
		
			  Percentage 
			  1999/2000 2000/01 2001/02 2002/03 2003/04 
		
		
			 Proportion of income from public funding(22) 61 60 60 60 60 
			 Proportion of income from tuition fees(22) 23 23 24 25 25 
		
	
	(22) Both proportions will include tuition fee income from public sources, which accounted for around 9 per cent. of total income in 2003/04. Total income to institutions will also include (non-tuition fee) income from private sources.
	Source:
	Higher Education Statistics Agency Finance Record
	Estimates of the fee income to higher education providers under the variable fees policy are contained in my written statement of 10 November 2005, Official Report, column 22WS.

Graduation Statistics

Michael Wills: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what percentage of those (a) enrolling in and (b) obtaining (i) post-graduate and (ii) doctoral degrees in (A) 1995 and (B) 2005 attended (1) fee-paying secondary schools and (2) state-funded secondary schools.

Bill Rammell: The available information on the previous school type of students is published by the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) in Performance Indicators in Higher Education in the UK1. However, these figures cover undergraduate entrants only and corresponding information for postgraduates is not available.
	The latest available information on the school background of higher education students covers young (aged under 21) first degree entrants, and is shown in the following table.
	
		Proportion of UK domiciled young full-time first degree entrants to English Institutions from state schools and colleges
		
			 Academic year Proportion from state schools and colleges 
		
		
			 1997/98 81.0 
			 1998/99 84.4 
			 1999/2000 84.1 
			 2000/01 85.0 
			 2001/02 85.2 
			 2002/03 86.4 
			 2003/04 86.1 
		
	
	Source:
	"Performance Indicators in Higher Education" published by the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA).

Schools (Broadband Internet Access)

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what proportion of (a) primary schools and (b) secondary schools has broadband internet access (i) in England and (ii) local education authority.

Phil Hope: A list of broadband internet connections to (i) primary and (ii) secondary schools within each local authority in England is attached at annex 1.
	As at November 2005, 85 per cent. of schools (99 per cent. of secondary schools and 83 per cent. of primary schools) had access to broadband.
	
		Annex 1: Broadband connections by local authority as at 30 November 2005
		
			 Local Authority Number of secondary schools connected Percentage of secondary schools connected Number of primary schools connected Percentage of primary schools connected 
		
		
			 Cumbria 43 100 230 81 
			 Lancashire 88 100 406 83 
			 Bedfordshire 47 82 83 56 
			 Cambridgeshire 31 100 205 100 
			 Essex 80 100 215 45 
			 Hertfordshire 82 100 415 99 
			 Luton 12 100 42 69 
			 Milton Keynes 12 100 91 100 
			 Norfolk 52 100 338 88 
			 Peterborough 14 100 59 100 
			 Southend on Sea 12 100 37 100 
			 Suffolk 78 100 92 36 
			 Thurrock 10 100 46 100 
			 Derby City 13 100 81 100 
			 Derbyshire 49 100 229 64 
			 Leicester City 16 100 49 57 
			 Leicestershire 55 100 131 58 
			 Lincolnshire 67 100 149 52 
			 Northamptonshire 44 100 189 70 
			 Nottingham City 19 100 58 57 
			 Nottinghamshire 48 100 200 65 
			 Rutland 4 100 9 53 
			 Darlington 7 100 34 100 
			 Gateshead 10 100 76 100 
			 Hartlepool 6 100 30 100 
			 Middlesborough 8 100 43 100 
			 North Tyneside 16 100 56 100 
			 Redcar and Cleveland 11 100 50 100 
			 South Tyneside 11 100 50 100 
			 Stockton 16 100 64 100 
			 Barking 9 100 50 100 
			 Barnet 21 100 91 100 
			 Bexley 15 100 61 100 
			 Brent 15 100 59 100 
			 Bromley 17 100 78 100 
			 Camden 9 100 41 100 
			 City of London 0 — 1 100 
			 Croydon 25 100 92 100 
			 Ealing 11 92 65 100 
			 Enfield 16 94 66 100 
			 Greenwich 16 100 64 100 
			 Hackney 8 100 55 98 
			 Hammersmith 9 100 36 97 
			 Haringey 11 100 60 92 
			 Harrow 10 100 55 100 
			 Havering 18 100 66 100 
			 Hillingdon 17 100 46 72 
			 Hounslow 14 100 61 100 
			 Islington 9 100 43 98 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 4 100 27 100 
			 Kingston 10 100 11 30 
			 Lambeth 12 100 61 100 
			 Lewisham 12 100 68 100 
			 Merton 8 100 42 100 
			 Newham 15 100 65 100 
			 Redbridge 17 100 51 100 
			 Richmond on Thames 8 100 9 22 
			 Southwark 12 100 69 96 
			 Sutton 14 100 41 100 
			 Tower Hamlets 16 100 71 100 
			 Waltham Forest 19 100 60 100 
			 Wandsworth 11 100 55 100 
			 Westminster 8 100 40 100 
			 Blackburn with Darwen 9 100 33 56 
			 Blackpool 8 100 32 100 
			 Bolton 16 100 8 8 
			 Bury 14 100 22 35 
			 Cheshire 46 100 214 75 
			 Halton 8 100 38 73 
			 Knowsley 11 100 59 100 
			 Liverpool 33 100 148 100 
			 Manchester 23 100 139 100 
			 Oldham 15 100 51 64 
			 Rochdale 14 100 75 100 
			 Salford 14 100 82 99 
			 Sefton 22 100 90 100 
			 St. Helens 11 100 57 98 
			 Stockport 14 100 100 99 
			 Trafford 16 89 71 97 
			 Warrington 12 100 74 100 
			 Wirral 21 95 98 97 
			 Bracknell Forest 6 100 30 100 
			 Brighton and Hove 9 100 55 98 
			 Buckinghamshire 34 100 104 56 
			 East Sussex 27 100 152 97 
			 Hampshire 69 97 428 97 
			 Isle of Wight 21 100 46 100 
			 Kent 104 100 298 63 
			 Medway 19 100 90 100 
			 Portsmouth 10 100 54 100 
			 Reading 7 100 37 100 
			 Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead 13 100 46 100 
			 Slough 11 100 27 100 
			 Southampton 14 100 63 100 
			 Surrey 53 100 320 100 
			 West Berkshire 10 100 45 66 
			 West Sussex 39 98 182 75 
			 Wokingham 9 100 52 100 
			 Banes 13 100 51 75 
			 Bournemouth 10 100 27 100 
			 Bristol 17 100 77 65 
			 Cornwall 31 100 200 83 
			 Devon 37 100 243 78 
			 Dorset 34 100 96 70 
			 Gloucestershire 42 100 226 90 
			 North Somerset 10 100 42 65 
			 Plymouth 17 100 79 100 
			 Poole 9 100 29 100 
			 Somerset 39 100 186 83 
			 South Gloucestershire 14 100 96 100 
			 Swindon 10 100 67 100 
			 Torbay 8 100 31 94 
			 Wiltshire 29 91 207 96 
			 Birmingham 76 100 311 100 
			 Coventry 19 100 86 100 
			 Dudley 22 100 82 100 
			 Sandwell 18 100 101 100 
			 Solihull 13 100 56 82 
			 Walsall 20 100 94 100 
			 Wolverhampton 19 100 82 100 
			 Staffordshire 73 100 214 69 
			 Stoke 17 100 74 100 
			 Herefordshire 14 100 83 99 
			 Worcestershire 49 84 91 47 
			 Shropshire 22 100 143 100 
			 Telford and Wrekin 14 100 66 100 
			 Warwickshire 37 100 146 73 
			 Calderdale 14 93 63 74 
			 Doncaster 17 100 55 53 
			 East Riding of Yorkshire 18 100 132 98 
			 Kingston-upon-Hull 15 100 77 100 
			 Kirkless MBC 34 100 79 52 
			 North East Lincolnshire 12 100 56 95 
			 North Lincolnshire 14 100 47 72 
			 North Yorkshire 47 100 235 71 
			 Rotherham 16 100 105 97 
			 Sheffield 27 100 122 87 
			 Wakefield 18 100 125 100 
			 Northumberland 59 100 72 51 
			 Oxfordshire 34 100 233 100 
			 Leeds 41 100 221 98 
			 Newcastle 18 100 72 100 
			 Wigan 21 100 108 100 
			 Bradford 28 100 159 100 
			 York 11 100 54 100 
			 Durham 36 100 221 92 
			 Sunderland 18 100 84 100 
			 Tameside 18 100 76 100 
			 Barnsley 14 100 84 99

Special Education Needs

Angela Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what (a) proportion of the Budget and (b) amount per pupil was spent by each local education authority in the Yorkshire and Humber region on special education needs.

Maria Eagle: The information requested for each local education authority in the Yorkshire and Humber region can be found in the following table and is for the financial year 2005–06:
	
		
			  Total planned expenditure on the education of children with SEN1,2(£) Total planned expenditure on SEN transport1 (£) Total planned education revenue expenditure (£) Total planned expenditure on the education of children with SEN (excluding SEN transport) as a percentage of total education spending 
		
		
			 Local authority name (a) (b) (c) (a/c) 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 382,531,000 42,858,000 3,173,505,000 12.1 
			 Barnsley 14,700,000 1,315,000 131,550,000 11.2 
			 Bradford 43,949,000 4,836,000 351,110,000 12.5 
			 Calderdale 15,728,000 1,667,000 137,501,000 11.4 
			 City of Kingston-upon-Hull 22,823,000 2,661,000 166,771,000 13.7 
			 Doncaster 18,491,000 2,789,000 194,361,000 9.5 
			 East Riding of Yorkshire 20,982,000 3,736,000 189,343,000 11.1 
			 Kirklees 25,619,000 3,278,000 247,896,000 10.3 
			 Leeds 53,623,000 5,934,000 440,686,000 12.2 
			 North East Lincolnshire 13,955,000 939,000 105,811,000 13.2 
			 North Lincolnshire 14,645,000 1,531,000 95,511,000 15.3 
			 North Yorkshire 44,326,000 3,911,000 348,999,000 12.7 
			 Rotherham 23,492,000 1,912,000 177,677,000 13.2 
			 Sheffield 35,692,000 4,382,000 298,942,000 11.9 
			 Wakefield 22,217,000 2,924,000 195,547,000 11.4 
			 York 12,288,000 1,045,000 91,799,000 13.4 
		
	
	
		
			  Total planned expenditure on the education of children with SEN (including SEN transport) as a percentage of total education spending Total number of pupils with special educational needs as at January 2005(25) Total planned expenditure on the education of children with SEN (excluding SEN transport) per SEN pupil(26)(27)(28) Total planned expenditure on the education of children with SEN (including SEN transport) per SEN pupil(26)(27)(28) 
			 Local authority name ((a+b)/c) (d) (a/d) ((a+b)/d) 
		
		
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 13.4 143,870 2,660 2,960 
			 Barnsley 12.2 6,170 2,380 2,600 
			 Bradford 13.9 17,070 2,570 2,860 
			 Calderdale 12.7 5,670 2,770 3,070 
			 City of Kingston-upon-Hull 15.3 8,060 2,830 3,160 
			 Doncaster 10.9 7,830 2,360 2,720 
			 East Riding of Yorkshire 13.1 7,560 2,780 3,270 
			 Kirklees 11.7 11,330 2,260 2,550 
			 Leeds 13.5 16,790 3,190 3,550 
			 North East Lincolnshire 14.1 6,670 2,090 2,230 
			 North Lincolnshire 16.9 5,800 2,530 2,790 
			 North Yorkshire 13.8 13,100 3,380 3,680 
			 Rotherham 14.3 9,460 2,480 2,690 
			 Sheffield 13.4 15,500 2,300 2,590 
			 Wakefield 12.9 8,510 2,610 2,950 
			 York 14.5 4,360 2,820 3,060 
		
	
	(23) Figures are reported using cash terms as submitted by the LEA on 13 January 2006.
	(24) Includes planned expenditure on the provision for pupils with statements and the provision for non-statemented pupils with SEN, support for inclusion, inter authority recoupment, fees for pupils at independent special schools and abroad, educational psychology service, LA functions in relation to child protection, therapies and other health related services, parent partnership, guidance and information, the monitoring of SEN provision and inclusion administration, assessment and co-ordination. Also included is the funding delegated to local authority maintained nursery, primary and secondary schools identified as "notional SEN" and the individual schools budget for special schools. The figures recorded against "notional SEN" are only indicative of the amount that might by spent by schools on SEN. Not included is any budgeted SEN transport expenditure.
	(25) The total number of pupils with SEN as at January 2005 is calculated as the combination of all pupils in special schools (maintained and non-maintained), all pupils in maintained schools with statements, SEN pupils without statements in maintained schools and pupils in independent schools and academies with statements. These figures are drawn from the DfES Annual Schools Census and Form 8B and are rounded to the nearest 10 pupils.
	(26) The latest financial data available are Budget data for financial year 2005–06 while the pupil numbers are as at January 2005. Consequently there is a mismatch between academic and financial year pupils with the denominator for the unit cost being the number of pupils with SEN on the census date in January of the 2005–06 financial year.
	(27) The unit cost calculated by dividing planned expenditure on SEN by the number of pupils with SEN obscures a much larger range of costs and is a mixture of all the education costs for children in maintained special schools and just the SEN part of the education of children in other settings.
	(28) Figures are rounded to the nearest £10 and may not sum due to rounding.
	Note:
	Financial data are taken from local authorities' 2005–06 Section 52 Budget Statements submitted to the DfES while pupil numbers are drawn from the January 2005 DfES Annual Schools Census and Form 8b.

Staying-on Rates (Westmorland and Lonsdale)

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the average staying-on rate in post-16 education was in Westmorland and Lonsdale constituency in each year since 1997.

Bill Rammell: The percentage of 16-year-olds in full-time education in England at the end of 2004 was estimated to be 74.2 per cent.—the highest ever rate. Percentage figures on participation in education by young people are not available for parliamentary constituencies, but are available for local authorities—including Cumbria LEA. These were published in the Statistical First Release "Participation in education and training by 16 and 17-year-olds in each local area in England"—SFR11/2005 on 31 March 2005.
	The publication is accessible on the DfES website via the link, http://www.dfes.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000568/index.shtml.
	The specific figures are available through the following link: http://www.dfes.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000568/SFR11–2005tables_lea.xls.

Train to Gain Programme

Edward Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what estimate she has made of the level of spending on adult Level 3 training within the NETP Train to Gain programme in (a) 2005–06, (b) 2006–07 and (c) 2007–08.

Phil Hope: The National Employer Training Programme is due to be rolled out from April 2006 under the title "Train to Gain". Within the programme we shall be trialling, initially in two regions North West and West Midlands, a subsidy to support those undertaking a Level 3 qualification. We have allocated £20 million in each of 2006–07 and 2007–08 for the trials.
	In addition, employers in all regions will be able to obtain support through Train to Gain for employees without a first Level 2 qualification and who wish to go straight onto a Level 3 qualification. The support provided to these employees will be equivalent to what they would have received, had the learner been undertaking a Level 2 qualification in the same area. The cost of supporting those doing Level 3 rather than Level 2 will come out of the overall Train to Gain budget, rather than from a separate budget.

Consultants

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list the consultants which are being used by the commercial directorate in her Department; what the value is of those contracts; and whether payments are based on identified cost savings.

Jane Kennedy: holding answer 1 December 2005
	The commercial directorate functions as the central point in securing best value as well as achieving greater levels of effectiveness for the Department and the national health service through the use of best commercial practices and better commercial relationships. It is also responsible for the procurement of independent sector treatment centres and the implementation of the NHS supply chain excellence programme.
	The independent sector treatment centre programme has involved procuring circa £2 billion of activity across a range of projects including treatment centres, mobile magnetic resonance imaging scan units, and commuter walk-in centres. The next phase of procurements are currently planned to involve over £3.5 billion of activity. In addition, the implementation of the NHS supply chain excellence programme will deliver potential annualised savings of £500 million by 2007–08.
	In the financial year 2004–05, the directorate used the following consultancy and legal firms at a cost of £38.4 million, including £12.8 million on legal advice, from the department's programmes' budget. These were: Accenture Pic., Addelshaw Goddard, Ashurst and Co., Atos Origin IT, Augmentis, Avail/Yale/Tribal Consulting, Currie and Brown, Deloitte, AT Kearney, Eversheds, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Gardiner and Theobald, HOK International, KPMG, Marsh UK Ltd., Morgan Cole, National Economic Research, NDY Consulting, NHS Professionals, OVE Arup and Partners, Precept, PriceWaterhouse Coopers, Translucency Ltd., Willis Ltd., Wragge and Co.. Individual contracts vary, but payments are made for work completed against a set of contractual deliverables.
	In addition, in the financial year 2004–05 the directorate had 125 contracts with independent contractors and agencies at a cost of £28.6 million from the Department's programmes' budget.

Dentistry

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations she has recently received on the effectiveness of personal dental services contracts; and what assessment she has made of (a) treatment incentives for dentists and (b) the cost-effectiveness of contracts.

Rosie Winterton: The Department has not received any formal representations on the effectiveness of personal dental services (PDS) agreements. The evidence of pilot PDS agreements, now covering 35 per cent. of dentists, is that when a dentist's national health service earnings are no longer directly related to individual treatments, he or she are able to plan to plan simpler and more appropriate courses of treatment. This frees up time and capacity that can be used to spend more time with patients, adopt a more preventive approach to dentistry, and improve management of workload.
	Assessing cost-effectiveness depends on what criteria are used to measure outputs or outcomes. Any assessment based on measuring individual items of treatment would not take into account the benefits for patients of simpler and more appropriate courses of treatment and a greater focus on oral health promotion. In the future, the cost effectiveness of contracts could be assessed by comparing expenditure with courses of treatment, numbers of patients accessing services and improvements in oral health.

IVF Treatment

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the basis is for the policy that it is (a) clinically effective and (b) cost effective to restrict NHS funding for IVF treatment to women aged 30 years and over.

Caroline Flint: We do not have such a policy. At our request, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence issued a guideline, in 2004, on the most appropriate clinical treatment for people with fertility problems. That guideline did not refer to restricting in vitro fertilization treatment to women aged 30 and over. The primary responsibility for the provision of infertility services rests with the national health service at local level. We are discussing with Infertility Network UK, the leading voluntary organisation representing the interests of fertility patients, ways in which they can work with primary care trusts to help ensure that the patient's voice is heard when decisions about the provision of services are made at local level.

Medical Student Debts

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what financial assistance her Department makes available for medical student debts.

Liam Byrne: The Department makes student support available from the fifth year of undergraduate medical education and for postgraduate students on four-year courses in years two to four.
	Details are available in the documents, "A guide to financial support for higher education students in 2005/2006" and "Financial Help for Health Care Students (eighth edition)", copies of which are available in the Library. We make no special provision for financial assistance for medical student debts.

NHS Finance Data

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much financial support has been committed to each NHS organisation from (a) strategic health authorities and (b) the NHS Bank in (i) 2004–05 and (ii) 2005–06.

Liam Byrne: The latest year for which audited data is available on the financial support given to national health service organisations by strategic health authorities (SHAs), and the NHS Bank is 2004–05.
	Tables have been placed in the Library, which set out the financial support reported by primary care trusts and NHS trusts. Some of this support is internally generated by other organisations within the SHA, and some of the support is provided by the NHS Bank.

Smoking

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 4 March 2005, Official Report, column 1472W, on smoking, how weighted data differs from unweighted data; and if she will provide the unweighted data for the percentage of adults over 16 years who were smokers, broken down by sex in each year since 1998.

Caroline Flint: Data on smoking for those aged 16 and over are available from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) general household surveys (GHS). Questions on smoking have been included in the GHS biannually since 1974 and annually since 2000 in order to monitor trends in patterns of consumption.
	The weighting of data was introduced on the GHS in 2000. The general household survey 2000 specifies that the introduction of weighted data uses a two-step approach: "The data is weighted to compensate for non-response in the survey (sample-based weighting). The second step weights the sample distribution so that it matches the population in terms of region, age group and sex (population-based weighting)".
	The general household survey 2000 report presents weighted and unweighted data for 1998 to give an indication of the effect of weighting. Consequently, from 1998 there is discontinuity in the time trend with previous years.
	The ONS general household survey 2004 specifies that "the effect of weighting on the smoking data is slight, increasing the overall prevalence of cigarette smoking by one percentage point each year".
	Unweighted data for the percentage of adults over 16 years who were smokers since 1998 is unavailable. From 1998, date is only available on a weighted basis.
	A further explanation regarding the introduction of weighting into the GHS can be found electronically at: http:///www.statistics.gov.uk/lib2000/.

Smoking

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the likely effect of increasing the rate of tax on tobacco on the levels of smoking in the population.

John Healey: I have been asked to reply.
	The rate of tax on tobacco is just one of many factors that influence the levels of smoking in the population. HM Revenue and Customs and LSE academics have developed an economic model of the tobacco market, designed to evaluate the impact of tax and prices on the consumption of tobacco in the UK. The model is published in GES Working Paper No 150 "The Demand for Tobacco Products in the UK" December 2004 and is available on HMRC's website.

Smoking

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people are taking part in smoking cessation programmes in each primary care trust area in England and Wales.

Caroline Flint: Data on the number of people who set a quit date through the national health service stop smoking services and of those, how many had successfully quit, based on self report, by primary care trust in England, is published in table 18 in the statistical bulletin, "Statistics on NHS Stop Smoking Services in England, April 2004 to March 2005". A copy is available in the Library.

Thrombosis

John Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what changes to undergraduate medical training have been put in place since the Government response to the Health Committee's report on prevention of venous thromboembolism in hospitalised patients.

Caroline Flint: At the same time that the Government published its response on 21 July 2005 to the Health Committee's report, "Guidelines on the Prevention of Venous Thromboembolism in Hospitalised Patients", the chief medical officer (CMO) issued a letter drawing the Committee's report to the attention of the General Medical Council, the Specialist Training Authority of the Medical Royal Colleges and the Postgraduate Medical Education and Training Board.
	The venous thromboembolism (VTE) independent expert working group, established by Government to make recommendations on the prevention and treatment of VTE in hospitalised patients to the CMO by summer 2006, is looking at the issue of including the appropriate use of thromboprophylaxis in both undergraduate and postgraduate medical training.

Employment Statistics

Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many and what percentage of young adults aged 16 to 18 years in each region were not in education, training or work in the most recent year in which figures are available, ranked in descending order.

Angela Smith: The following table provides relevant estimates from the 2004 Annual Labour Force Survey database.
	
		Persons aged 16 to 18 who are not in education, training or work by NUTS3 region
		
			 NUTS3 region Number of 16 to 18-year-olds not in education, training or work Total number of 16 to 18-year-olds Number of 16 to 18-year-olds not in education, training or work as a percentage of all those aged 16–18 
		
		
			 Belfast (30)3,000 13,000 (30)21 
			 Outer Belfast (30)3,000 16,000 (30)16 
			 North of NI (30)2,000 15,000 (30)12 
			 East of NI (30)1,000 18,000 (30)6 
			 West and South of NI (31)— 18,000 (31)— 
			 Northern Ireland 8,000 80,000 10 
		
	
	(30) These estimates are based on small sample sizes and are therefore subject to a higher than usual degree of sampling variability. They should therefore be treated with caution.
	(31) Estimates are not shown as they are potentially disclosive.
	Source:
	2004 NI Annual Labour Force Survey Database.

Correspondence

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  when his Department will reply to the letter of 5 July 2005 from the right hon. Member for Warley regarding Mr. and Mrs. Ergonul of Siwell Road, Smethwick;
	(2)  when his Department will reply to the letter of 5 October from the right hon. Member for Warley regarding Ms Beckford of Queens Close, Smethwick.

Tony McNulty: I replied to the right hon. Member for Warley, on 17 January 2006.

Afghanistan

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the proposal to promote the licensing of Afghan poppy farmers to produce the raw materials for the manufacture of diamorphine and codeine.

Kim Howells: The proposal to promote the licensing of Afghan poppy farmers to produce the raw materials for the manufacture of diamorphine and codeine was put forward in the Senlis Council's "Feasibility Study on Opium Licensing in Afghanistan for the Production of Morphine and Other Essential Medicines". We are following the work of the Senlis Council and have considered the findings from their study. However, we do not believe that such licensing is a realistic solution to the problems of opium cultivation in Afghanistan, not least because it risks a high level of diversion of licit opium into illegal channels. It is clear from the feasibility study, as well as expert opinion, that Afghanistan currently does not meet the prerequisites necessary to control licit cultivation. There is also a risk that prices would rise, attracting new entrants into the illicit market.
	The production of opium is also contrary to the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. The Afghan Government has expressed its opposition to licit cultivation in Afghanistan. When the Senlis Council presented its study in Afghanistan in September 2005, the Afghan Minister for Counter Narcotics, Habibullah Qaderi, said,
	"The poor security situation in the country means there can simply be no guarantee that opium will not be smuggled out of the country for the illicit narcotics trade abroad. Without an effective control mechanism, a lot of opium will still be refined into heroin for illicit markets in the West and elsewhere. We could not accept this."

EU Staff

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many (a) full-time and (b) part-time staff are employed by the (i) European Commission, (ii) Council of Ministers, (iii) European Parliament and (iv) agencies of the EU.

Douglas Alexander: I am placing in the Library of the House a table from the Bulletin Statistique, Le Personnel de la Commission, Commission Européene, Direction Générale du Personnel et de 1'Administration, Direction Personnel et Carriere, January 2006, p. 4 giving the number of full-time employees of the European Commission, the Council of Ministers, the European Parliament and agencies of the European Union as at January 2006. The figures for part-time employees of these institutions were not available at the time of answering this question. They have been requested and will be sent to the hon. Member separately, and placed in the Library of the House.